Cisco's Chambers cuts salary to $1

The company's chief executive cuts his salary to $1 in order to save a few jobs at Cisco Systems, which is in the midst of laying off up to 8,500 employees.

January 2, 20024:43 PM PST

Cisco Systems Chief Executive John Chambers has cut his salary to $1 in
order to save a few jobs at the company, which is in the midst of laying
off up to 8,500 employees, the company said.

Chambers, who made more than $1.3 million in salary and bonus this past year, according to regulatory filings, will be joined by current Chairman John Morgridge in lowering his salary to $1. Chambers also made more than $150 million by exercising stock options, the documents show.

"John Chambers and John Morgridge have made efforts to reduce expenses with as little impact on employees as possible," a Cisco representative said. "This includes voluntarily reducing their salaries to $1, which will preserve a few additional jobs at the company."

Chambers' pay cut was first reported by the San Jose Mercury News.

Cisco is caught in the midst of the sharpest downturn ever in its financial fortunes. On May 8 it will report earnings for its third fiscal quarter that will be 30 percent below those of the second quarter. In addition, the company was slapped Friday with a shareholder lawsuit.

Its stock hovers just over $16 after reaching a 52-week high of more than $71. Previous to that, it peaked at more than $80 amid the Internet sector boom.